CFTS Streamlines Operations With FlightPro®

The Challenge

Located in snowy Southport, Manitoba, Allied Wings provides primary and advanced flight training to the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) as Contracted Flight Training Services (CFTS). This complex training delivery model employs 180 staff and utilizes a mixed fleet that provides training services to an average of 275 students per year. The CFTS training operation includes aircraft, full mission simulators, part task trainers, computer based training (CBT) and electronic examinations.

By the time of its 7th year of delivering training services for the RCAF, Allied Wings required a team of 9 dedicated personnel, who spent more than 8 hours a day managing the training schedule and dispatching aircraft. A single morning of bad weather would throw the program into chaos and cause significant loss of training slots and ongoing conflicts to manage throughout the day. Even though a sophisticated software system had been implemented from the beginning, the workflow was cumbersome and actually impeding daily operations.

“It was chaos – rescheduling occurring on the fly, cancelled missions, lost training opportunities, and general confusion, thanks to even a short period of bad weather, or a sick instructor. We needed a better solution.”

Bill Ryan, Site Manager, CFTS

The Solution

After a comprehensive market assessment, Ocean Software’s FlightPro® aviation operations and training management system was selected to manage the scheduling and training operations of CFTS. This implementation included integration of SCORM Computer Based Training (CBT) and two way integration with Microsoft Outlook Exchange calendar.

FlightPro® brought a dynamic scheduling capability to the dispatch team through the use of real-time graphical tools, configurable interfaces, and easy data entry. FlightPro® made rescheduling as intuitive as dragging and dropping information blocks to a new time on the schedule. FlightPro® is also used to comprehensively manage currencies and qualifications, guaranteeing that the crews assigned to each mission are qualified, and improving safety as a result. Ground training, both instructor led and self-paced, is managed and tracked from within FlightPro®, offering a single, configurable, and easy-to-use portal for students, staff, and supervisors.

Realising ROI

FlightPro® was delivered on-schedule and under-budget delivery by Ocean’s experienced Project Team, with the result that Allied Wings operations in all areas improved significantly and quickly.

“The FlightPro® transition was implemented with zero interruption to flying operations. In fact we reduced our operations desks from 2 to 1 and the customer is happy. FlightPro® allowed us to meet our Performance KPIs with the customer.” Said Bill Ryan.

The implementation of FlightPro® made it possible to reduce the size of the dispatch and scheduling team by 30%, with the smaller team able to complete scheduling in 25% of the time previously required by the original team. This enabled Allied Wings to reallocate duties across the organization. Allied Wings saw a substantial improvement in overall operational output and achieved performance KPIs in their first year of implementation.